Scooby Doo, Where Are You!
by The Grim Writer
Summary: Who painted the Mystery Machine? What is Shaggy's real name? Could Scooby Doo ever run out of Scooby Snacks? Solve these mysteries and more reading the story that finally solves the answer to the 50 year old mystery of Scooby Doo and his friends; how did the Scooby gang meet? (Written for the 50th anniversary of Scooby Doo Where Are You!)
1. Chapter 1

Hey, it's the Grim Writer back with another Scooby story. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Scooby Doo gang, I decided to write a backstory fic. Not really sure where it's going to end up, but we'll see what happens.

I don't own Scooby Doo or any relating characters. They are owned by Hannah Barbara and Warner Bros.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Scooby? Scooby Doo, where are you?!"

The lanky teenager walked down the dark trail timidly. As much as he wanted to just simply turn around and head the other way, he first had to make sure his buddy was alright. As well as that stray cat that the Great Dane had been chasing when they bounded into the woods, barking and yowling respectively.

"Scooby, come on, like leave that poor cat alone! It's getting dark out!"

'Not to mention spooky', the beatnik thought worriedly. With the full moon out, dark creepy trees completely bare, and the trail covered in dried out orange and brown leaves, it sounded just like the start of a horror movie. A shudder ran through the hippie's spine as a gust of wind blew up some of the leaves off the ground, spiraling into an eerie dance like motion.

Talk about spooks-ville.

"Scooby?", came the nervous reply from the teen, as he just realized how quiet it had gotten. Aside from the leaves rustling at his feet, there was almost no sound. Stopping in his tracks, he stood still to try and figure out what to do. As he did this, the rustling from the leaves didn't quit. As a matter of fact, they sounded like they were coming… right… behind… him…

Heart pounding uncontrollably, the beatnik froze on the spot as he heard what now were clearly footsteps coming closer. With a deep breath, he quickly turned around… and came face to face with a chalk white, billowing ghost.

"Zoinks! A g-g-ghost!", stammered out from the teen as he jumped nearly a foot in the air and turned to make a break for it. But not before he heard giggling from the ghost himself.

"Reeheeheeheehee! Got rou!"

Turning to face the "ghost", Shaggy Rogers could see that it was none other than his pal Scooby Doo, who was removing a white sheet from his head with his front paws.

"Scooby! What do you think you're doing, scaring me out of my skin like that?"

"Rhoops! Rorry…", said the large dog, although a smug smile was still on his face.

"Like, whatever ol' buddy. Now come on, let's get out of here"

With that, the lanky beatnik started heading back down the way he came towards his backyard. But a thought suddenly made him pause.

"Say Scoob, where'd you find that sheet in the middle of the woods anyway?"

The dog, holding the sheet in his mouth, pointed further down the trail into the woods.

"Rown there. Rollow me!"

Taking off like a bullet, the dog bounded down deeper into the woods, his poor owner chasing after him

…

"Like, you- huff, huff, couldn't have gone any slower… ", the beatnik said in annoyance before looking at the structure in the middle of the clearing.

"Like, wowee Scoob"

In the middle of the clearing was a gigantic, yet run down, mansion. Next to the mansion a few yards away was an old tool shed, where Shaggy could see a few old rags and sheets bunched up inside a barrel. The hippy turned to his dog, who was still holding the white sheet in his mouth.

"So, like this is where you found the sheet?"

"Ruh huh, ruh huh"

The Great Dane trotted over to the tool shed to toss the sheet in with the other ones in the barrel. The lanky beatnik stood in disbelief.

"And you like never thought to mention this because…"

"Rit looked scary! Rand spooky!"

The hippy stroked his small goatee.

"Hmm, like I never thought about it that way. Good thinking Scoob!"

"Rhanks!", the dog exclaimed as he shoved the sheet in the barrel. But not before feeling something hard inside of a wad of cloth.

"Ruh?"

The hippy started walking over to where his buddy was.

"Like, what is it Scoob?"

"Romething in rere"

"Something's in there?"

"Reah! Reah!"

Without warning, the Great Dane started launching sheets behind him, determined to find out the mysterious object in the barrel. Not realizing he was burying his buddy in a seemingly endless number of old sheets.

"Like, would you watch where you're throwing stuff Scoob?", the annoyed teen exclaimed as he tossed the sheets that had begun to wrap themselves around his head onto the ground.

"Rook! Rook!"

Shaggy peered inside the bottom of the barrel and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Like, I don't believe it…", murmured the hippy as his reached into the barrel and grasped the mysterious object resting in the bottom

"It's like a gold nugget!"

The nugget rested in the palm of his hand, glistening in the moonlight like a yellow diamond.

"Like, what's something like this doing in something like that in the middle of somewhere like here?"

The dog next to him shrugged in response. Pocketing the nugget, Shaggy went to turn and investigate the shed, curiosity tempting him. But before he made it a foot inside, a low moan from the house made him freeze.

"Like, was that you're stomach Scoob?"

The dog gulped, aware they weren't alone anymore.

"Ruh uh"

"Then, like what- "

The front doors to the mansion burst open, a loud moan echoing into the night. Scooby jumped into Shaggy's arms and the duo shook with fear as they noticed a figure emerging from the shadows inside the mansion, it's glowing green eyes sharply contrasting with the darkness of the house. Its blue cloak glowed under the moonlight, and its mouth hung open in a permanent snarl, as it moaned again, much louder this time.

"Zoinks! Like, let's get out of here!"

Shaggy took off running in a flash, leaving Scooby momentarily hovering in thin air before scrambling after the beatnik in a panic.

"Rait for me!"

…

Back at the mansion, the ghost headed towards the shed and peered inside. Seeing the sheets thrown from the barrel into a giant mess on the ground made him scowl. Closing the doors, the ghoul made sure to lock them before turning towards the trail, wondering on what he should do with that meddling kid and his nosy dog…

**Author's Note**

And there's chapter one! I'm not really sure how to describe the ghost, so I've just kind of been picturing him as the one in the Supernatural/Scooby Doo crossover.

Also, I'm aiming for this to be set in 1969, right before the first episode of Scooby Doo Where Are You aired.

Anyways, review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-

A hand slammed down on the clock sitting on a small nightstand next to a lava lamp. The hand retreated back to its hiding place underneath the covers of a messy bed in the middle of an equally messy room.

"Like… yawn… five more minutes…"

"REEP! REEP! REEP! REEP!"

The annoyed beatnik again slammed down on the clock to silence it, only for the beeping to continue on. Further annoyed, a set of tired, sleep crusted eyes peeked out from under the covers and examined the button again, not finding it stuck or anything. Now, even more annoyed, the sleepy figure in the bed draped his hand behind the nightstand and yanked the cord. Which did nothing to silence the thing. Sitting up in bed, both hands on the dreaded clock, Shaggy was just about to hurl the thing in the trash bin across the room before noticing a certain talking dog imitating a certain alarm clock.

"REEP! REEP! REEP! Rime to ret up Raggy!"

A chuckle managed to escape Shaggy as he stretched his lanky limbs.

"Like, thanks for the wakeup call old buddy old pal. Now come-on, let's grab some grub!"

With that, the dog rushed downstairs as the teen bounded out of bed and began throwing on a pair of bell bottoms and an extra baggy green V-neck sitting in a pile on the floor of his room. Quickly glancing in the mirror, the beatnik did his best to comb his cow licks down, but he still somehow managed to leave his hair in a relative shaggy state.

'Oh well, that IS my nickname. Might as well stick with it!', the beatnik thought as he stroked the patch of chin fuzz that made up his small goatee.

"Man… I really thought this thing would grow out some more", he thought outload, before hearing a bellow from Scooby downstairs that breakfast was ready.

"Like save some for me Scoob!", Shaggy yelled, hurriedly running down the staircase and heading towards the kitchen.

Seated at the table was three people; Scooby Doo, who was already chowing down on the two-foot-tall stack of pancakes in front of him, and his little sister Sugey, who was eating a normal sized bowl of cereal. Pulling up a chair, Shaggy grabbed a helping of pancakes and turned towards his sister in between bites.

"Like, where did Mom and Dad go?"

Sugey glanced up from her cereal, grimacing slightly at the pancake stack her brother was consuming.

"Dad, like, had to go in early for something at the station, and Mom needed some groceries for dinner tonight"

Shaggy hummed in response before shoving another pancake wad in his mouth.

"Like, thanks Sugey!"

Sugey grimaced a bit.

"Shaggy, it's Maggie now, ok? Sugey was, like, my toddler nickname"

"Whoops, like, my bad sis. You cool with taking the bus today?"

Sugey, I mean, Maggie, gave her brother a look.

"I mean, yeah, like I've been taking it for a few months now. I kinda now how it works now"

Shaggy raised his hands in defense.

"Ok, like I was just checking is all, you know, just so you don't miss it or anything!"

Maggie glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing the time.

"Um, doesn't your bus come in like a minute?"

Nearly giving himself whiplash, Shaggy looked at the clock and his eyes widened.

"Zoinks! Like, I gotta go!"

With that, the beatnik leapt from the table and started sprinting out the door. But not before Scooby stopped him.

"Rait Raggy, your rag!"

The Great Dane held an old worn out back pack in his mouth, sitting directly in front of the door Shaggy was going to run out.

"Like, thanks old buddy old friend old pal"

Shrugging on the bag, the hippy practically jumped out the door and over the porch before running to the bus stop on the other side of the street. He could see the yellow bus pulling up to the corner and gave a sigh of relief as he realized he would make it. But not before a blaring beep made him turn around, and he nearly had a heart attack a second time that morning.

Shaggy narrowly leapt out of the way as a light blue panel van nearly hit him right there in the street. Landing in a ditch in a neighbor's lawn, the trembling beatnik risked a peak onto the road, where he saw the van driving away in the distance. Along with the bus he was supposed to be on.

"Hey!"

Leaping from the ditch, the beatnik sprinted after the bus, which was starting to get further and further away each time his foot smacked the pavement.

"Hey! Like, I'm here! Wait!"

**Author's Note**

Poor Shag. I was inspired off of that one scene in Rio for the beginning of this chapter. Also, Shaggy's younger sister Sugey/Maggie is roughly in eighth grade (and kind of growing to dislike her odd brother, but not flat out hating him, sort of like a rebel teenager or something) while Shaggy and the rest of the gang are in their junior years.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Huffing and puffing, Shaggy managed to make it to school before his first class started. Stumbling through the front doors of Coolsville High, the now sweaty teen practically collapsed onto a spare chair next to the office, taking a moment to catch his breath. As he was panting, the worn-out beatnik could have sworn he felt some one watching him. Taking a second to observe his surroundings, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw the girl that was sitting in the seat right next to his, staring in slight disgust right at him. A moment went by before Shaggy decided to say something.

"Um… what?"

"You smell horrible!"

'Well, this is off to a great start', the hippy thought

"Well, yeah, but like I missed the bus and had to sprint all the way here to make it on time. Sorry I couldn't fit a shower in between that and class"

Tired with a conversation like this this early in the morning, Shaggy was about to get up and find a water fountain, but not before the red head's response made him stop.

"Wait, you ran all the way here? How far is your house?"

Shaggy thought for a minute.

"Well, like about 10 miles or so"

"How long were you running?"

"About 20 minutes"

The purple clad red head stared at him in disbelief

"Jeepers, that is really fast! Are you in track?"

"Like, uh, no, sports aren't really my thing"

"You should try out! You must be a natural if you can run that fast!"

"Um, well, like I'll think about it"

"Groovy!"

The door to the office opened and a secretary popped her head out.

"Ms. Blake? The principal will see you now"

The red head hopped up from her seat and turned to face the beatnik.

"I'll see you around…", she started, but failed when she realized she never got his name.

"Shaggy. The name's Shaggy"

"I'm Daphne. Anyway, I'll see you around sometime"

With that, she walked into the principal's office, leaving him alone.

And then the final bell rang.

"Zoinks!", the beatnik yelped as he grabbed his bag and started sprinting towards his first class.

"Like, I'm late!"

Running to class, he accidentally shoved someone over. Utter a quick apology, Shaggy dived into his first class the second the teacher had begun his lesson.

**Author's Note**

Please review


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Jinkies… where could they be?"

A shorter girl in an orange sweater and red pleated skirt fumbled her hand on the floor, searching through her scattered pile of books and papers for her glasses.

"I can't see a thing without my glasses…", she uttered out loud, hands brushing across the floor carefully so she didn't accidentally fling her glasses further down the hall.

"Hey! You ok?"

Turning her head, the girl could see a white and orange blur walk towards her, then kneeling on the ground in front of her, appearing to hold something. Fumbling slightly, she managed to grab what the blur was holding for her, which upon feeling she realized were her glasses. Slipping them on, the white and orange blur in front of her cleared up and she could instead see a blonde jock wearing a white sweater over a blue collared shirt with an orange ascot around his neck, kneeling in front of her wearing blue jeans.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks"

With that, the shorter girl began to gather her things into a stacked pile, the older looking boy helping her.

"My name's Fred Jones. What's yours?"

"Velma. Velma Dinkley"

Stacking the last book on top, Fred looked at the girl kneeling on the floor in front of him and did a double take.

"Say, aren't you in my Advanced Physics class?"

Velma adjusted her glasses and realized that it was in fact the same Fred that sat a few desks in front of hers.

"Yeah, I am, and you're the same Fred that tried to build a better mouse trap for that project last week, correct?"

Fred practically beamed with pride.

"Yep, that was me!"

The two teens stood up from where they were kneeling, Velma's books back in the stack it was before someone shoved her over, and the two began to walk to class. Velma felt a little worried they might get in trouble for being late, but their teacher wasn't a particularly mean one, so perhaps they might be in the clear. Turning towards Fred, she asked him something.

"So, why were you out in the hallway anyway? I thought class started already"

"Oh, I forgot my book in my locker, so the teacher gave me a few minutes to run and grab it"

Velma hummed in response before falling silent again. The pair walked until they nearly reached their classroom, when the lights in the hallway suddenly flickered, then went out. They two teens stopped in their tracks.

"Hmm… that's odd.

Carefully, the two walked through the dark hallway, eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden change. The hall they were in was a particularly old hall, part of the original high school before an addition was added on a few years ago, so a lot of the abandoned class room doors were closed shut, with no lights coming from them, adding to the darkness consuming them. Their classroom was the science lab near the end of the hall, and once they could figure out where it was in the darkness, the quicker they could escape it.

Fred suddenly stopped in his tracks, Velma copying him a second later.

"What is it?"

Fred shushed her, and as the bespectacled girl listened she could make out a low moaning sound coming from further down the hallway. Velma gasped, afraid someone might need help like she did a few minutes ago, or worse.

"Hello? Are you ok?"

The moaning continued, which didn't ease either of the teens' nerves. Somewhat reluctantly, they started heading further down the hall, Fred taking the lead with Velma and her stack of books bringing up the rear. Fred decided to call out again.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

Fred suddenly felt a tug on his white sweater, halting his movement. Turning his head, he saw Velma had a death grip on his arm, a horrified expression on her face. Before he got a chance to ask her what was wrong, she whispered under her breath, "Look".

Looking ahead of him, the blonde couldn't see much besides pure blackness, but when he took time for his eyes to adjust, he saw a figure sprawled out on the floor just a few feet ahead of him. Holding his breath, Fred sucked in whatever courage he had at the moment and trudged ahead, concern written all over his face.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Kneeling down on the ground, the ascot wearer shook the figures' shoulder, hoping that they weren't hurt or anything. The figure shifted, before turning to face Fred.

The figure had glowing green eyes.

**Author's Note**

Please review


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What the- ", was all that Fred managed to utter before a clawed hand swatted him away, and the figure in front of them stood up to reveal themselves as-

"Yow! A ghost!", cried Velma, fear freezing her in place.

The ascot wearer scrambled to get back on his feet, then hurried back down the hall, assuming Velma was quickly behind him. But the sweater clad girl was still frozen in fear as the blueish ghoul started floating towards her, moaning and groaning as it kept getting closer. When it was within a few feet of her, the ghost's moans started getting louder until they were practically wails. Trembling in her orange stockings, Velma did the only thing she could think to do in her state of panic. She handed her giant stack of books and papers over to the blue ghoul, who grabbed them.

"Hold these for a second"

With that, Velma took off after Fred, leaving the ghost both in the dust and confused. A puzzled expression on his cloaked face, it took a second to realize that he had been tricked. Dropping the books onto the floor, the ghost began chasing the two teens, wailing at the top of its lungs.

"Well, Ms. Blake, I'm glad that you came to me about this matter", said the balding principal with thick glasses.

"I'm glad you feel the same way Principal Ruby. I'm sure my friends and the other students here will be relieved to hear that Red Herring isn't going to be around to bug anyone anymore"

For as long as any of the teens of Coolsville can remember, there was always Red Herring. Ever since Red was a toddler, he would cruelly bully anyone that got in his way, from geeks and nerds, to even some of the cooler kids and jocks, all with an ugly sneer on his face. When he entered high school, the bully would often get sent down to the principal's office on a daily basis, only to be up to his old habits a day later. This time however, the staff at Coolsville High realized that Red had gone too far this time. Yesterday during practice, the bully had tried to sneak into the girl's locker room when they were changing into their cheerleader uniforms, only to be yanked back by a furious Daphne Blake, who then called down the hall for the coach. Principal Ruby had immediately suspended him for a week, then decided to meet with Daphne about what happened this morning to see if he should change Red's punishment to an expulsion. Which he did upon hearing it from the young woman sitting on the other side of his desk.

"Thank you for meeting with me about this Ms. Blake. Now, here's a note from me for your teachers so they don't mark you tardy. Hurry on, and don't worry about seeing Mr. Herring around this school anymore"

"Thank you, Principal Ruby,", the red head said as she rose from her seat, note clutched in one hand, and headed out the door. But not before her bag accidentally bumped the edge of a shelf, sending something falling off of the edge.

"Whoops!"

In the nick of time, Daphne managed to grab the object before it hit the floor. Putting it back on the shelf, she could see that it appeared to look like a gold nugget.

"Thank heavens you caught that. That was a present from my mother a long while ago"

Turning to face the principal, Daphne asked, "Is that real gold?"

The principal started chuckling a bit before shaking his head no.

"Oh no, that's just a chunk of pyrite, fool's gold if you will. If I had a gold chunk that large, I'd retire!"

With a quick wave of his hand, the principal sent the red head out of his office so she wouldn't be late for her class. Clutching the note in her hand, Daphne started to quickly jog to her first class so she wouldn't miss any more of it then she already had. A second later she took a sharp right to get to her class-

-where she collided with three people who were running straight at her from two different hallways.

Untangling herself from the mess of bodies and limbs, she could see a jock wearing a white sweater, a girl wearing a poofier orange sweater and glasses, and Shaggy. Once she got a glance of them, her fiery temper flared up.

"What were you all running from, a ghost?!"

No sooner that she said this did a blue, glowing green-eyed ghost coming flying down the hallway right at them, wailing at the top of its lungs. Fred turned his head towards the shocked red head, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"That answer your question?"

The red head glared at the sarcastic comment delivered by the jock, before scrambling to get off of the floor, Fred doing the same. Shaggy raised his head from where it had collided with the hard marble floor, wincing as he rubbed it. Turning his head, he could make out what appeared to be-

"Zoinks! The ghost!", Shaggy exclaimed, his hair sticking straight out in every direction. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed the orange sweatered girl by the arm and yanked her to her feet, and the two began running from the screaming specter behind them.

The teens began running as fast as they could away from the spook that was following close behind. Daphne turned to face the blonde, who was ahead of her.

"What do we do?"

Quickly thinking, Fred noticed an old broom closet near the end of the hall. An idea popped in his head.

"Quick, duck in here!"

Wrenching the door open, the jock hurried inside with the rest of the teens stumbling in after him, then shut the door. They all held their breath as they heard the ghost's wailing getting closer, only letting out a sigh of relief when they heard the ghost run right past them and take a left down another hallway. He must have thought they were still running ahead of him. Opening the door, the teens stuck their heads out to double check, grateful to find the hall empty. Daphne let out a sigh of relief as she and the rest of them tumbled out of the closet.

"Jeepers! What was that thing?"

Velma adjusted her glasses, her hand a little shaky as she did so.

"I think… that must have been a ghost"

Shaggy's eyes widened even further as he quickly turned to face the bespectacled girl.

"Like, you think? What else could it be?"

"What's going on here?"

Shaggy yelped and jumped in the air a bit before cowering behind Velma. An older man in a janitor's uniform scowled at the small group of teens before him. His uniform was a mess, the only thing clean on it being his shiny name tag, which bore the name, "Ken Spears".

"Like, a ghost nearly ran us over man! That's what's going on here!"

The older man narrowed his eyes as he looked at the tall paranoid hippy standing before him.

"Son, have you been smoking something?"

Fred decided now might be a good time to intervene.

"No, what he's saying is true sir. A blue ghost with glowing green eyes chased us all down this hall. It was wailing at the top of its lungs!"

The old man gave a grunt as eyed them suspiciously.

"I didn't see any ghost, nor did I hear any wails. Now get to class you delinquents!"

Deciding they couldn't convince the janitor, the group began to walk down the hallway back to their respective classes. Daphne turned towards the blond walking next to her.

"Should we tell the principal about this?"

Fred scratched his head.

"Probably not. I mean, if the janitor didn't believe us, odds are he might not either. Besides, it was a pretty strange thing to happen"

Daphne hummed in response before finding her classroom.

"Alright I'll see you after school…"

"Fred Jones. And the girl with me is Velma", the jock said, finishing her sentence.

"I'm Daphne. See you later"

Turning from the red head, Fred hurried to join the rest of the group, who had kept walking when he stopped briefly. Getting closer to them he realized they were in a heated discussion about what just happened.

"Like, I just don't get how you don't think it was a ghost!"

"That's because ghosts don't exist silly! It's a scientific fact!"

"Then like the ghost needs to fact check those facts!"

Sighing, Velma shook her head as she could feel a headache coming along just talking to the taller boy.

"Fred, will you try to convince scruffy here that ghosts aren't real?"

"Like, my name's Shaggy"

Velma blinked her eyes before her headache suddenly got worse.

"I was only referring to you based on your description- what kind of a name is Shaggy?"

"Shaggy" shrugged his shoulders.

"It's been my name ever since grade school- "

"Norville Rodgers!"

Jumping in the air yet again, the hippy found himself face to face with his math teacher, a strict, short, older woman who didn't look so happy with her slacking student.

"When I allowed you time to get your homework assignment from your locker, I expected no more than five minutes, NOT twenty!"

The taller boy nervously gulped as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his slightly crumpled, yet completed, math homework.

"Like, here ya go Mrs. H. All done"

With a scowl, she snatched the assignment and trenched back into her classroom. Shaggy gave a sigh of relief before turning towards the girl next to him, who was trying to hard not to laugh. He sighed again.

"Norville?"

"Yeah, and like now ya know why I go by Shaggy"

Velma was about to make a comment before Shaggy's math teacher stuck her head out of her room in annoyance.

"Norville! Quit goofing around and get in here! The whole class is waiting on you! And Dinkley, I'm surprised at you, slacking off as well!"

The teacher again stormed back into her classroom. Shaggy raised an eyebrow at the now blushing girl standing next to him.

"Dinkley?"

"My surname. Velma is my first name, thankfully. Dinkley sounds more like a nickname such as yours than an actual surname"

Shaggy started to walk towards the door, but not before turning towards Velma one more time.

"Hey, if you ask me it's a pretty groovy last name. It could have been somethin' boring like Brown or something"

With that, the taller boy entered his math class, leaving behind a blushing shorter girl uttering a small "thank you", before heading off with Fred to get to their physics class.

**Author's Note**

Holy fricking mutant cow that took a while to write! Fun fact, the principal was inspired off of Joe Ruby and the janitor off of Ken Spears, two amazing people who helped create Scooby Doo. Also, I couldn't help but throw in a "Shaggy is a pothead" joke, even if he isn't an actual pot head in this story.

Anyways, review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When the final bell rang, the students of Coolsville High hurriedly packed their bags and prepared to enjoy their free time before tomorrow. Among these students were four who had started walking towards the school parking lot, going over what had happened to them earlier that day.

"What I don't get is why a ghost would even bother chasing after us for so long anyway. It doesn't make any sense!"

Velma turned towards the blonde-haired boy who was reaching into his pockets for his keys.

"Ghost or no ghost, something made that thing mad at us. And I'm determined to find out what!"

The others agreed with her and started wading through the small traffic cluster of impatient students trying to get out of the parking lot. Shaggy froze when he saw the vehicle that Fred was currently unlocking with his key, realization hitting him like a brick. The others turned towards the beatnik, each of them confused.

"What's wrong Shag?"

"Like you were the guy that nearly turned me into roadkill this morning!"

Confused, Fred turned towards his light blue panel van trying to think back to this morning.

"Wait, that was you?! I thought that was a deer or something, I couldn't really tell because it was moving so fast it was a blur!"

Opening the passenger door, Shaggy let the two girls go ahead of him before climbing in himself.

"Yeah, like that was me alright- Yow!"

Recoiling in pain, the beatnik rubbed his right buttock as it had sat on something extremely hard. Reaching into his pocket, he found-

"Zoinks! Like, I forgot all about that!"

Velma turned towards the hippy to her right.

"What- wow, look at that!"

In Shaggy's hand was what looked like a gold nugget the size of a potato, glistening in the afternoon sun shining through the windshield. Daphne stared at it in disbelief.

"Hey, that looks like the one Principal Ruby has in his office!"

Fred climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door.

"Principal Ruby? Could he have been behind the ghost's appearance?"

Shaggy groaned, his head hurting more as he wasn't used to this much thinking all in one day.

"Like, I don't know about you guys, but can we grab some food when we're going over all this? All this thinking is making me hungry!"

Starting the ignition, Fred began to pull out of the parking space he had parked in.

"Alright gang, let's head to the Malt Shop and go over this evidence"

…

A couple of malts and a triple decker sandwich with all the works (and then some), Shaggy felt comfortable enough to tell the rest of the gang what he and Scoob had seen last night. Velma was holding the gold nugget, staring intently at it.

"I'm betting that the ghost must have followed you here to school and knew that you might have this with you", Velma said, gesturing to the nugget she was holding.

Daphne stirred the straw in her strawberry malt in wonder.

"What I don't get is why the ghost would want to hide that nugget in the middle of nowhere, where no one would even bother to look for it anyway?"

"Extra-safe safe keeping?", suggested Shaggy, which caused Daphne to hum in thought.

"Well, whatever the case, I think the next thing we should do is check out that mansion Shaggy mentioned. We might find a clue!"

Agreeing with the jock, the headed over to Shaggy's house to investigate the trail that led to the old mansion in the middle of the woods. But not two seconds before entering his house did the beatnik get tackled by a furry brown blur, sending him flat on his back on his walk.

"Like cool it Scoob, down boy, down!"

"Raggy! (slurp, slurp) R'I missed you!"

Shaggy forced the Great Dane off of himself and sat there on the ground wiping off the dog saliva that covered his face.

"Sheesh, I'm gone for an extra twenty minutes and it's like the end of the world!"

Getting on his feet, the hippy could see the shocked expressions on the gang's faces, all of them dumbfounded that this dog had enough energy to knock a six-foot-tall man straight to the ground in one pounce. Fred was the first to snap out of it, and him clearing his throat caused to girls to come back down to reality as well. Shaggy chuckled.

"Welp, like here he is. Introduce yourself pal"

Scooby turned to face the new people, a goofy grin on his furry face.

"Rello, I'm Rooby Doo!"

**Author's Notes**

And now the gang's all here!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

A few minutes of introductions later and the gang were headed down the spooky trail, Scooby Doo leading the way sniffing. Even in the late afternoon the woods were spooky, the bare tree limbs shaking like angry gnarled limbs. Daphne shivered.

"Jeepers, I know it's September, but I didn't think it would be this cold outside"

Shaggy shivered.

"Like, I didn't think it would be this CREEPY outside. I figured it'd be better than at night!"

"Rey, rook, I round a clue, I round a clue!"

Everyone stopped their chattering and gathered around where Scooby was pointing. Snagged on a low shrub was an aqua blue strip of cloth. Tugging it free, Fred examined it for a second.

"This looks like the same color as the ghost!"

Velma grabbed the cloth from Fred and examined it herself.

"Hmmm… I think I've seen this material before. It was from one of the costumes in the closet at the school play"

"Like, what were you doing in there anyways?"

Velma froze for a second.

"I, um, well, I might have gotten… locked in there my freshmen year"

Daphne looked at the orange sweatered girl in concern.

"Did Red do that?"

A brief nod was all it took for the red head to furrow her brow.

"Well, don't worry about him anymore. I personally made sure that he wouldn't bully anyone for a long time!"

Velma smiled a bit before turning back to the task at hand.

"I'd have to check back there again to make sure, but I'm fairly certain it's from an old wizard cloak"

Fred stroked his chin for a second, lost in thought, before snapping his fingers.

"Alright gang, I've got a plan. We'll search that closet tomorrow to look for the missing wizard cloak, and then head back and investigate the mansion tomorrow night"

Shaggy looked at him in disbelief.

"Like, we're going inside a haunted mansion… at night?"

"Exactly!"

"But like, why can't we just search it now? It's still pretty light out, and like way less creepy!"

"Because Shag, we just saw the ghost today, and I'm betting he recognized you from last night, so he'll think that we would investigate the mansion as soon as we can to get to the bottom of this mystery. But if we wait an entire day, he won't see us coming!"

Shaggy stroked his small goatee in thought before agreeing with the jock. 'More time away from that creepy place is ok any day', he thought nervously.

"Groovy. Now that that's settled, I say we start heading home. I'll drop you girls off and how about we meet each other in the lobby tomorrow at school?"

The others nodded before heading off down the trail back to Shaggy's backyard. But not before something with a blue hand shifted a bush in front of it so it's glowing green eyes could see the group of kids leaving, narrowing in suspicion…

**Author's Notes**

So… I sorta forgot this existed? But the 50th anniversary is coming up, so I wanna try and get this done before then.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

BEEP! BEEP! BEE-

A lanky limb slammed down on the beeping clock of death before it's equally lanky owner stumbled out of bed. Scratching his messy hair, Shaggy began to slowly throw on some clothes before heading off to school, going over Fred's crazy plan again. The plan was for Fred, Daphne, and Velma to check out the costume closet in the auditorium, while Scoob and himself snuck into the principal's office and "borrowed" his gold nugget to compare it to the one they had found at that spooky mansion.

"Like, zoinks", was all Shaggy managed to murmur under his breath before he attempted to comb his messy hair with his hand quick before heading down for some breakfast.

When he walked in the kitchen, he saw that Maggie was eating her cereal, his mother was making French toast, and his father reading the paper sipping his coffee. Scooby was already chowing down on a few French toasts lain out in front of him, some specks of toast and syrup flying across the table. Shaggy's mother started walking towards the table with some more food, a frown on her face.

"Scoobert, I know you're hungry, but remember your table manners, alright?"

Scooby bowed his head sheepishly.

"Rhoops! Rorry!"

Finishing up his food the Great Dane bounded towards the kitchen sink to grab a wet rag to wipe up his mess. Shaggy sat down as his mother served him a generous amount of French toast and leaving a few for herself.

"So, what's new with you Norville?"

"Like, same ol' same ol'… uh, I forgot to mention this, but today at school is, uh, take your dog to school day, and I uh, was wondering if like Scoob could go with me?"

"Well, alright… but will they allow him on the bus?"

"Like, a couple of new friends of mine are stopping by to pick us up, so like there's no worries there"

His father shifted his paper to look at his son sternly.

"New friends? They aren't trouble makers, right?"

"No, no, they're good people"

His father gave him another look before sighing and glancing back at the sports section.

"Well, alright then. Remember, the people you meet now can change your entire future in a snap sometimes"

The lanky beatnik nodded his head before finishing his breakfast and wipping his sticky syrup covered face. A honk was heard from the driveway.

"That must be them! See ya Mom, Dad, Sugey! Come on Scoob!"

With that the beatnik and his dog left behind a stern father, a concerned mother, and a fuming sister as they left for school.

…

"Like Scoob… hate to tell you this, but you're gonna have to sit in the back"

The Great Dane in question had misjudged the length of the bench seat in the van and had immediately climbed in after Shaggy and slammed the door, squishing them all together uncomfortably. Scooby whined and then climbed back out and headed towards the rear of the vehicle. Opening the double doors, the dog looked inside the mostly empty storage area.

"Ruh? Rhat's this?"

Fred craned his head to see what he was talking about.

"Oh, that's just some stuff that a friend of mine gave me when they had to send his old VW hippy bus to the scrapyard. I thought maybe I could sell them to someone who wanted them"

Eyeing the hub caps and spare tire cover, all of them a lime green with orange flowers on them, Scooby thought for a second.

"Rhy not use rhem on your ran?"

Fred turned towards Shaggy as he pulled out of the Roger's driveway confused.

"What did he say Shag?"

"Like he said why don't you just use them on your van?"

Fred sighed.

"I mean, I have been wanting to do some sort of paintjob on this thing for a while… but I was thinking maybe something with flames or racing stripes. Hippy vans always just seem more… clustered and messier than what I was thinking of doing"

"But like they don't always have to be man! Like, I get where you're coming from and all, but like all a groovy hippy van really needs is a wavy pattern and maybe some flowers"

"I've also seen some that have some sort of saying painted on the side of them, whether that be a quote or a name", Velma piped in.

Fred thought about it for a second, then nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I could see that working… maybe I'll sketch out some ideas today and see what it looks like!"

"I think we have some old car paint at my parents' mansion from repainting their convertibles. They wouldn't mind if we used some"

Everyone turned to face the red head in the middle, who suddenly paled when she realized what she said.

"Ransion?!"

"Convertibles?!"

"That is like so groovy! How come ya never mentioned you were rich?"

The purple clad girl seemed to shrink into the middle of the seat.

"Because of this… I just didn't want people only liking me for my money"

The rest of the gang looked at her in disbelief.

"Like, we don't like you now cause of your money… we just think it's cool is all!"

"Reah! Reah!", the dog said agreeing with him.

"Besides your one of the few people who thought I had like a talent besides eating", Shaggy chuckled.

"And you got rid of that jerk Red Herring", Fred pointed out.

"AND you're in the popular group yet you never once made fun of my glasses", Velma chimed in.

Daphne gave a small smile.

"Thanks, that really means a lot. A lot of the popular people only really talk to me because I'm rich, which I never liked. You guys talk to me just to talk to me, and I just have to say I really appreciate that"

The gang all smiled, then began to push their thoughts aside as they pulled into the school parking lot and focus on their mission.

"Alright gang, everyone knows what to do?"

A quick nod from everyone, and Fred set the van in park and began climbing out.

It's show time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Fred drew sketches of his van in his notebook bored in his history class. History was never his strongest subject, and right now with this whole ghost business he needed a distraction. Drawing a wavy line across the lower half of the vehicle, he tapped his pencil on the sheet in thought before sketching two flowers alongside it. Now the upper half… another set of flowers? Nah, it would be too much like a hippy van then… maybe a quote like Velma suggested? Hmm… peace and love? Nah, not original enough. The Flower Vehicle? Wait, that's too much hippy… what to name that machine…

"Mr. Jones, I believe history class is for learning, NOT doodling away in your notebook"

Shooting up in his seat, the jock could see his balding history teacher glaring daggers into him before turning to complete his lesson.

"Honestly, it's a mystery you even made it this far in high school Jones. Now, where was I? Ah yes…"

Fred droned him out as an idea was forming in his head. Machine… of the mystery of life? Nah, how about simplifying it to…

…

Shaggy walked dejectedly towards the parking lot during lunch break, his stomach grumbling in protest. Ignoring it, he began to focus at the task at hand. Just get in when the principal's getting his lunch from the teachers' lounge, grab the gold nugget, then get out? Piece of cake. Mmm… cake…

Shaking his head, the beatnik saw the rest of the gang standing around the van, Scooby sleepily joining them after being woken up from his nap in the back of the vehicle. Fred clasped his hands together excitedly.

"Alright, everyone clear on what to do?"

Everyone nodded, and Fred's smile grew even wider.

"Ok gang, let's spit up"

With that, the group split into two halves- Fred, Daphne, and Velma who started walking further into the school towards the auditorium, and Shaggy and Scooby, who hung around a few feet away from the principal's office, waiting for Principal Ruby to leave. Which he did just as the duo began walking towards the office, causing them to duck and hide in hopes he didn't see him.

Principal Ruby was just on his way to grab his lunch when he thought he heard something crash behind him. Turning around sharply, he expected to find someone fooling around near the entrance of the school, but he only saw two metal trash cans. Staring at them for a second, he chalked it up as the wind rattling them and left it at that. A couple of seconds later, a now smelly hippy and his dog both raised their heads timidly out of the trashcans they were hiding in, the lids balanced on their heads like hats. Both gave a sigh of relief before clambering out and heading towards the principal's office.

…

"Well, here's the closet"

Velma gestured towards the old looking door tucked away behind the small stage. Turning the handle, she entered the pitch-black room, Fred with his flashlight peering in.

The place was a mess. Granted, it hadn't been used in nearly two years, but in those two years it seemed like an endless supply of spider webs were spun on nearly every article of clothing, and dust covering everything else. Daphne shuddered.

"Jeepers! Look at this place!"

Fred shown his light over the filthy place, an idea budding in his head.

"This might actually be a good thing. If the ghost was in here recently, we could see it based on the dust!"

"I think you're right Freddy. Look!"

Shining his light down towards where Velma was pointing, he could make out a set of clean foot prints visible in the dusty floorboards. She looked at them suspiciously.

"Hmm… ghosts don't leave footprints…"

Fred started heading towards the trail, the girls following him.

"Let's see where these lead"

…

Shaggy wasn't exactly the brightest bulb of the bunch, but he knew if he was caught stealing from the principal, it wouldn't be good. Which is why he was doing his best to convince Scooby to go in there and steal it for him.

"Like don't worry pal… I'll keep guard out here. And like if I see anything suspicious, I'll knock on the door three times!"

Grumbling under his breath, the canine began to head into the door, but instantly brightened up when he heard Shaggy say, "Like, if you hurry I'll buy you some Scooby Snacks after school, ok pal?". The canine happily agreed to this and began trotting into the office. Scooby Snacks were his favorite dog/cookie treat in the whole wide world, so much that they inspired his nickname. Craning his head into the office, the Great Dane noticed the shelf with the shining chunk of fools' gold on the wall. Balancing on his hind legs, Scooby grabbed the nugget in his front paws and started heading towards the door. But a quick three raps echoing on the wooden surface in front of him made him freeze.

"Ruh roh…"

…

Shaggy should have paid more attention. One quick glance at a student walking by with a cheese burger from the Malt Shop and he was already daydreaming about eating some lunch later. When he snapped back to reality, the hippy saw in horror as the principal was walking back to his office, bag lunch in hand. Having a few seconds, he rapped on the door three times to warn Scoob, then silently prayed that those improv classes he took last summer paid off.

"Norville? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, like hi Principal Ruby, I just wanted to ask you why, uh, Red hasn't been here lately. At school that is. Like, just oughta curiosity"

"Oh, that's a bit of a story. Why don't we discuss it in my office?"

The principal made a move for his door, but Shaggy shifted his torso over the handle.

"Like, ah, why not just tell me out here? With all this beautiful sunshine… shining through the front bay windows", Shaggy said weakly, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. The principal furrowed his brow at him, starting to see right through his act. Shaggy gulped, he was never that good at lying.

"Mr. Rodgers, you wouldn't happen to be keeping me out of my office, would you?"

"Like no, no sir, I'm sorry that I gave you the impression that I was sir, you know, like you said, keeping you out of your own office sir-"

"Then quit stalling and let's go in!"

Shaggy gulped, and with no other choice moved away from the door he was blocking. Principal Ruby grasped the door handle tightly, and gave the nervous beatnik another look before opening the door to his office to find-

-nothing. Absolutely nothing looked out of place.

"Hmm, that's odd. I almost thought for sure… well, never mind that Norville, have a seat and I'll tell you what happened to Red"

Shaggy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in and started to relax. Scooby must have found a way out through the window and made it back into the van in time. Making his way to the chair in front of the principal's desk, he waited patiently as Principal Ruby set his lunch down on his desk and started searching the drawers for a fork. But his blood ran cold as he heard-

"Psst… Raggy"

Slowly turning his head, the beatnik could only look in horror at the Great Dane standing on his hind legs next to the shelf mounted on the wall, golden nugget resting in his paws and a lampshade hiding his head from view.

"Did you say something Norville?"

Shaggy snapped back at his principal, who was still searching for his silverwear.

"Like, I just said baggy! Like, as in your baggy lunch! Sorry, was just thinking out loud!"

"Quite alright son. Oh, maybe I stored them behind here!"

With a few seconds to spare, the beatnik furiously gestured for his dog to make a break for it. But before he could do anything else, the principal finally found a fork and began to dig into his salad.

"So, the story with Red is that Ms. Blake caught him trying to sneak into the girl's dressing room a few days ago, and after a meeting with her and a few other students, and learning from them just what his behavior revealed about himself, I decided it would be best to expel him"

Shaggy scrunched awkwardly in his chair, trying to think of a way to help his buddy escape.

"Like, yeah… I suppose that would have been in order…"

"As a matter of fact, I think you met Ms. Blake before my meeting with her. Yesterday morning in front of my office? A red head wearing a purple dress?"

"Yup, like, I think that was her all right…"

"What's the matter Norville? You seem troubled"

"Well, uh, ya see Principal Ruby, I, um, like-"

Shaggy, having completely given up on trying to figure a better way out of this, suddenly shot up from his chair, pointing out the window.

"ZOINKS! RED HERRING!"

"WHAT?! Where?"

The principal quickly turned around, leaving time for Scooby to rush out of the office with the stolen fool's gold. As soon as the office door slammed shut behind the canine, the principal turned around upon hearing the door.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

The principal blinked in surprise before shaking his head, muttering about needing a hearing aid.

"Never mind. Well, now you know what happened to Red, so get back to lunch"

Shaggy practically bolted from his chair and headed towards the door.

"Like nice talking with you sir!"

…

"Hey gang, look where the footprints lead!"

The two girls followed the shine of Fred's flashlight, which was centered on an old chest. Velma walked towards it and opened it with a small squeak coming from the old hinges. She gasped.

"I was right all along! Look!"

On top of a seemingly endless supply of costumes rested a fake long white beard and a pointed blue hat, made of the same material as the scrap they found in the woods. The orange sweatered girl picked it up and felt the texture of it just to make sure. However, the cloak that went with the entire costume was missing.

"This proves that the ghost is nothing but a phony!"

Fred stroked his chin in thought for a second.

"It also means that whoever this ghost is, he had to have access to this closet to get the costume in the first place!"

Velma hummed in response.

"Meaning that the ghost has to be someone in this school!"

"So, maybe the principal DID have something to do with it!"

"Or maybe Red Herring! After all, he has a motive, Daphne getting him suspended"

"Or maybe that creepy janitor, who denied even seeing a ghost!"

The trio sat in the musty room deep in thought, unaware that something was coming closer to them in the dark…

**Author's Note**

Take a wild guess who suggested Red Herring was the culprit


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Fred was the first to hear footsteps, which caused him to quietly shush the girls. When all three heard the steady pattern of feet walking towards them, their eyes widened

"What now Freddy?", Daphne nervously whispered

"On the count of three, we nab this ghost once and for all!", Fred whispered back, tip toeing behind an old wardrobe. Daphne and Velma followed him and they all got into position.

"Ok, one. Two. Three!"

On three, the trio tackled the figure that wondered into the back of the costume room. The blonde practically laid on top of the now struggling figure, while the girls sat on his lanky legs. Fred grabbed the figure by the scruff of his hair and shone his flashlight in his face, revealing-

"Shaggy? We thought you were the ghost!"

The beatnik gave him an annoyed look.

"Like, another pounding like that and I might have BECOME a ghost!"

Everyone got off of him in a hurry, and shortly after that met up with Scooby (who was too chicken to wander in the dark closet) who was holding the gold nugget in his mouth. Velma took the nugget from the dog and examined it. She furrowed her brow in thought and grabbed a magnifying glass from her back pack. The hippy leaned over her shoulder.

"Like, what do you see Velmster?" 

"I'm just examining the edges of the golden nugget. You see, iron pyrite, also commonly known as fool's gold, has very sharp edges while actual gold is much softer in- what did you just call me?" 

The taller beatnik shrugged.

"Like Velmster. Like, I just kinda said it on the spot"

The shorter girl gave him a hard look before turning back to her magnifying glass.

"Anyway, I took the time to look a little closer at the gold nugget that Shaggy and Scooby found, and I've found that that one was a fake!"

Tha gang gasped in shock, Scooby Doo included. Daphne's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Why would a ghost go this far to try and steal a gold nugget that isn't even gold to begin with?"

Fred murmured in thought, a plan forming in his head.

"Gang, I think tonight we should pay our phantom a visit…"

…

As the final dismissal bell rang, four amateur teenage sleuths headed towards a light blue panel van, where a talking dog patiently sat.

"Ok gang, everybody clear on what to do?"

Four yes's and one "ro", and a quick explanation later, the group was headed towards Daphne's house to drop her off. Driving past the neighbor's house the red head had asked Fred to drop her off the other day, the blonde driving couldn't help but feel bad that she felt the need to go this far to hide the fact she was secretly rich. Shrugging the feeling off, the blonde pulled into the elongated drive way and parked next to the garage.

"Well, I'll stop by at about seven to go investigate"

The red head agreed, then Velma moved over so she could get out. Daphne was just about to head inside when a cranking noise caused her to stop in her tracks. Turning around, she could see that the van was still in the driveway, Fred trying to get the engine to turn over. She walked over and tapped the window.

"Everything alright?"

Fred sheepishly turned to face her.

"Uh, looks like the van broke down. Again"

"That's ok! I can call a tow truck!"

Fred stepped out of the vehicle, the rest following.

"You're ok with us being here?"

"Sure!"

"… Well alright then"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Say, can one of you guys hand me a monkey wrench?"

"Ronkey wrench?"

The Great Dane scratched his head as he started looking around the mansion's gigantic garage for something that looked like a monkey.

"No Scoob, it's not a… sigh, Shagster?"

"Like don't worry, I got ya"

Scanning over the slightly cluttered work desk, the tall beatnik found the tool and handed it to Fred, who was lying on a dolly underneath the van. The jock thanked him before rolling back under and resumed working.

Hearing voices, Shaggy turned and saw the girls walk in from the house entrance, chatting about something. Both of them stopped and Daphne let out a groan.

"He's still not admitting I should have just called a tow truck?"

Shaggy shook his head, Scooby wandering around looking for a monkey wrench behind him.

"Yup he's still at it. But like, he seems to know what he's doing so-"

A brief crash and some muffled yelling under the van cut off Shaggy and a monkey wrench went flying out from under it, bouncing across the cement floor.

"Then again…"

Daphne sighed, not giving up without a fight. Walking towards the side of the van, she bent down on her knees and loudly rapped her hand on the driver's side door.

"Yeah?"

"I'm pretty sure you should just call it quits and call a tow truck!"

"No way! I know every inch of this machine, and I'm determined to fix it!"

Standing up in a huff, the red head briskly walked back towards the door way, nearly bumping into a concerned Shaggy and a curious Velma, both who just turned to each other and shrugged. What she did bump into was Fred's backpack, which he left lying out on the work bench with his white sweater, and sent it flying to the floor, its contents spilling out everywhere.

"Jeepers!"

"What was that?"

Daphne turned towards the muffled response underneath the light blue vehicle.

"I'm sorry Fred, I knocked your bag on the floor"

"That's ok, you can just leave that or something"

Doing her best to shuffle everything together, the purple clad girl went to shove everything back into the backpack when something caught her eye. Opening up a notebook, she could see a design sketched onto the outline of what appeared to be Fred's van.

"Hey, Fred?"

A grunt and a quick "yeah" from under the vehicle made it clear he was listening.

"Were you thinking of painting this "Mystery Machine" design on your van?"

After a brief pause, the blonde gave a quick "yup" in confirmation.

"Because, if you wanted, us three could paint it while you fixed the van. I have all the paint right here in the garage, and it would give us something to do.

Another brief pause, and a final "sure, sounds like a plan" gave Daphne the motivation she needed to get herself out of her bored funk. But before she even got to planning, a voice under the van rang out.

"What colors were you thinking of using?"

Before she could even respond, a brief "RIKES!" and a loud crash echoed in the large garage. The gang hurried over to see what the commotion was, Fred included as he scurried out from under the van he was working on, and they all stopped in their tracks. Standing next to a knocked over shelfing unit of paint stood Scooby Doo, covered in light green and orange car paint. A quick glance at the shelves revealed the two of the cans must have burst open when they toppled over, landing on top of the poor pooch. Daphne turned to Fred, who, like the rest of the gang, was dumbfounded.

"So, I was thinking leave a few parts blue, but how do you feel about green and orange?"

…

A brief painting session later, and new founded "Mystery Machine" was completely painted and the hubcaps and spare tire cover were added on as well. The van looked perfect, and the gang stood back a ways and admired it. Except one.

"Fred, would you just take a break and at least look at it?"

"But, I've almost got it this time, I can feel it! I know I fixed the first thing, but now it won't start!"

"FRED!"

With everyone yelling his name, the blonde almost dropped the wrench in his hand on his face in shock.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming out"

Creeping out from under the vehicle, a tousled haired and slightly grimy Fred Jones walked towards the gang, a look of defeat on his face. But that look wiped right off his face when he saw his new van.

"Wow…"

Staring in shock, the blonde couldn't think of anything to say. Which made the rest of the gang wonder if they screwed up big time. But a brief jump in the air and a yell of delight fixed that mood.

"It's amazing! It's just like in my sketch! Thanks gang, I owe you guys one!"

"Now that you mention it, free rides might be a – ouch!"

Shaggy was cut off when Velma gave him a brief jab in the ribs with her elbow, a disapproving look on her face.

"Like, what'd I say?"

"Don't be rude!"

With that, the shorter girl walked to the van, leaving behind a confused hippy and a giggling Great Dane. Fred walked over the van with a happy look on his face and sighed.

"It's great guys, but considering I can't even drive it… AND considering the fact I'm not even sure anymore what's wrong with this old machine, I might need to just send it to the shop or something.

Velma looked closer at the hood of the van, ignoring the protests from the rest of the gang and turned towards the dejected jock.

"Are you sure you checked everything?"

Fred wiped his oily hands off in a rag frustrated

"Yes! I checked the engine, the fuel tank-"

"How about the battery?", Velma said, gesturing towards the hood of the van propped open revealing a disconnected battery. Fred stared at it dumbfounded.

"Didn't check that…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

A lone owl perched on a gnarled old branch, his eyes shifting back and forth down the creepy wooded trail, nothing but the full moon to light the path. Content he was safe, the feathered bird was just about to fall into a deep slumber when a flash of headlights pierced through the thick fog, blinding the poor thing. With a loud hoot, the owl took off into the night, angry at the brightly painted vehicle for disrupting his sleep schedule.

Shaggy looked out of the passenger window of the newly named Mystery Machine and couldn't help but shiver. Here he was, just your average junior in high school, about to go hunt down an angry ghost in a haunted mansion deep into the middle of these creepy woods.

"Like, remind me again why we had to do this at night?"

The blond in the driver's seat gave him a look.

"Come on Shag, it's only a little fog. There's no reason to be afraid of fog"

"Yeah, it's the things that are IN the fog that are scary!"

A whimper from the back of the van caught everyones attention.

"See, even Scoob agrees with me!"

The great dane was lying on the floor of the van, his massive front paws covering his face in fear. His poor frame was shaking and shivering, teeth chattering uncontrollably. The red head turned to look at him and couldn't help but feel bad for him. Reaching into her purse, she dug out a box of dog treats and started shaking them. The dog immediately stopped shivering and one of his ears even lifted up, curious about the noise.

"Scooby, I know you are probably scared to go into that mansion, but we really could use a brave, strong dog like you on our side", Daphne said, putting an emphasis on the big and strong part. She could start to see him lift one of his paws from his face, eyes looking at her. Great, now she had his full attention.

"Scooby, would you do it for a Scooby Snack?"

Nearly giving himself whiplash, Scooby Doo bolted right up on his hind legs, sitting right up to the bench seat of the van, his mouth watering and tail wagging spontaneously.

"Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah! Reah!"

Chuckling to herself, Daphne tossed a few of the treats in the air, the dog gobbling them up in seconds, uttering a triumphant "Rooby Doo!" before assuming the stance of a brave soldier heading for battle. Turning back around, she went to put the snacks away when a scruffy bearded face suddenly obscured her vision.

"Hey, like what about me?"

Velma, who was sitting in between Shaggy and Daphne (and who didn't appreciate the beatnik leaning so far into her personal space), tugged sharply on his green v-neck, forcing him to sit back down on the seat.

"YOU eat dog treats?"

Shaggy smirked, "Like, they're WAY more than dog treats! They're like, the tastiest treat known to man! They're warm and delectable and yummy and, and-"

"They raste like a rutterscotch rorsel!"

"Yeah, like a butterscotch morsel, with a hint of carmel"

Grumbling a bit, Velma grabbed the box from Daphne, then passed it along to an over eager Shaggy.

"Here. Try not to get crumbs everywhere"

Ignoring the bottomless pit chowing away right beside her, the orange sweatered girl focused on the dirt trail ahead of her. Aside from what was in immediately in front of the glow of the headlights, all she could see was fog. Turning towards Fred, she could see the blonde was also having a hard time navigating through the thick fog.

"How much longer do you think it'll be Fred?"

"I can't tell with this fog, but I hope we're there soon- hold on do you see that?"

"See what?"

"That, the glow up ahead!"

Squinting her eyes, Velma could see what appeared to be a warm, yellowish-orange glow off into the distance. As the van trudged along further, she could see a silhouette of the mansion, the highest window at the very top a faint light coming from it.

"That's funny… that glow almost appears like the same glow as candles do"

"Like, what's so funny about that? Looks more like creepy to me!"

"Re too!"

Putting the van in park, Fred turned to face the two cowardly members in the vehicle, both shivering in fear.

"Alright gang, this is it. It's time we got to the bottom of this mystery once and for all!"

Stepping out of the van, the rest of the gang followed after the blonde jock shortly, Daphne hovering behind him, Velma right behind her analyzing the mansion in front of them, Shaggy nervously following her, and Scooby Doo bringing up the rear. He turned to face them all, a brave expression on his face.

"Ok gang, I vote we split up to cover more ground. Daphne and Velma, you and I will start investigating the basement, Shaggy and Scooby, you two check out the attic. Let's try to meet back on the ground floor in about twenty minutes, alright? And if you hear or see something suspicious, whistle real loud"

"Rike this?", the goofy great dane said, who then begun to whistle quite loudly using his paws (fingers?), only for an annoyed beatnik to slam his hand over his snout, silencing the whistle.

"Like shhhhhh! Do you want the ghost to hear us?"

Scooby gulped nervously, having briefly forgotten about the ghost. Shaking his head nervously, the group headed closer to the mansion. Stopping on the front stoop, Fred had raised his hand to grasp the bronze door handle to open it, only for the door to slowly swing open itself, creaking loudly the entire time it was moving.

Peering inside, the gang could make out a dimly lit massive foyer, the walls completely covered with weathered portraits, faded purple wallpaper, and dozens of cobwebs. Hanging from the ceiling stood a massive chandelier, filled with ancient looking wax candles, giving the entire room an eerie warm tone that bounced off of the walls, creating a few ominous shadows in the corners. On the right-hand side stood a staircase, which lead up to a small second landing with a few doors. Fred led the group inside of the creepy den, the door slamming shut behind them (causing Scooby to yelp), then stopped and faced the group of teens, determination etched onto his face.

"Ok, we'll try the doors in here and try and find the basement, you two head upstairs"

"Like, rodger-dodger"

With shaky legs, the beatnik headed up the flight of stairs, his four-legged friend trailing behind him. Glancing around him, he couldn't help but wish he was back home watching a late-night movie and eating some popcorn. And some pineapple pizza. And maybe a triple decker sandwich with extra everything. But no, he was here, walking around a haunted house looking for a ghost. A ghost of all things!

A sharp tug on his green shirt snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning around, he saw a nervous Scooby Doo looking at a portrait with wide eyes, his paw tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

"Like, what is it Scoob?"

Scooby, too nervous to speak, started dramatically pointing at the painting of the creepy looking old guy, and then began to point at his eyes and comically rotate them back and forth at a rapid pace.

"Like, are you telling me that this painting's EYES were watching us?"

"Ruh huh, ruh huh"

"Like, paintings don't do that Scoob ol' buddy. Your nerves must be making ya see things, that's all. Now come on, I think the attic's this way"

Giving a huff, the Great Dane looked one last time at the glaring portrait before giving up and following his lanky friend further up the stairs. The "portrait" followed them with its eyes, deciding what to do first…


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"See anything down there Freddy?"

Shining his flashlight down the set of stairs, the blonde lightly stepped down on the first step, carefully setting his weight on it to make sure it held. Seeing as it only creaked and hadn't moved, the blonde started down, motioning for the two girls to follow him.

"Nothing much really. Follow me and be careful, these stairs are old!"

Feeling the cool brick wall on his left, the jock slowly headed down the staircase, determined to figure out the phantom's motive. The further down they reached, the more the small light they had revealed the room they were entering. The dull brick walls had a few patches of moss and spiderwebs scattered out along with a few rusted pipes. A few chests and dressers sat across the cracked stone floor, looking like they hadn't moved in decades. As the jock stepped down from the last step, he shown his light to the far corner of the dim basement, revealing a bookcase. Curious, he started heading towards it when something crashed into his right side and knocked him flat on his face. Wincing, he turned to see Velma sprawled out on top of him, her glasses crooked upon her face, and Daphne on top of her, her face blushing with a guilty expression.

"Sorry… I missed that last step there"

Untangling himself, the jock rubbed his sore jaw from where it struck the floor, wincing yet again.

"It's ok, just be careful next time"

Daphne nodded, and then the trio started further into the basement, curiously examining its contents. Fred, specifically, was checking out the bookcase at the end of the room, which looked out of place for some odd reason.

"Oops!"

"As he went to turn around, Fred caught a flash of purple fall towards him and suddenly he was back on the floor again, this time landing on his back. Eyes flicking open, he caught sight of Daphne yet again on top of him, blushing furiously

"I'm sorry, there was a big crack in the floor and I tripped! Again…"

Fred stood up and dusted himself off, slightly annoyed. Helping Daphne up, he couldn't help but notice her nearly trip a third time, this time just getting off the floor.

"You ok Daph?"

"I'm fine, I've just always been a little clutzy is all"

"Well, you certainly are danger prone Daphne, that's for sure!"

Turning towards the bookcase, Fred brushed his index finger along a shelf, studying the dust he collected on it. Rubbing his fingers together, he could feel the dust wasn't as heavy as he expected.

"What is it?"

"This dust seems lighter than everything else in the room, meaning someone must have moved this recently"

"But why?"

Velma scrunched her eyes together in thought, analyzing the bookcase herself before something caught her eye. On the middle shelf sat a maroon book, which looked to be a journal of sorts considering it had no title. The biggest part that she noticed was that this book appeared to be dust free, while the rest of books had some form of dust or cobweb clinging to it. Reaching for it, she grasped the upper corner with her fingers before giving it a tug, only for the book to tilt towards her like a lever, letting out an audible click as it did so. Much to the group of sleuths' surprise, the bookcase swung outwards towards them like a door, revealing-

"A secret passageway!"

The passageway appeared to be a small tunnel that lead down further into the stone the basement was dug into, darkness smothering the end. Gripping his light, Fred started leading the way, the girls carefully following behind him. The steps they were treading on were worn stone, dug sharply and crudely in comparison to the wooden steps they used not two minutes prior. As the gang went down further, the darkness of the small cavern washed away with the light, revealing a rotting wooden door with a rusted handle. Grasping the handle, the blonde quickly glanced at the red head and brunette behind him, determination written on his face.

"Ok… here goes"

Wrenching the door open with a loud creak, the gang slowly stuck their heads into the doorway revealing-

"Jinkies!"

**Author's Note**

Yeah, I just ended on a cliffhanger. Ha


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Zoinks. Like, this place is creepy"

"Reah"

The duo managed to find the stairs leading to the attic, but were beginning to regret having done so in the first place. Cobwebs and dust bunnies seemed to cover everything in the room, and shadows covered everything else. Old furniture and trunks were covered in white sheets, making them look like ghosts. That, and one of the windows was broken, letting in a cool Septemer fall draft, making the beatnik and his dog shiver not only of fear, but of the cold.

"Ok, like, I'll start looking in this corner, while you start looking over there"

"Ruh-uh! Ro way!"

Shaggy lightly ushered over the cowardly great dane to the left side of the room, who was too frozen in place to move.

"Relax Scoob, I'll be right over there! If anything happens, anything at all, then like just come running to me, ok?"

"R-r-r'okay"

The hippy left the dog and went over to the right side of the move and began searching some of the chests for something out of the ordinary. Scooby began nervously walking further into the left side, fear quite evident on his face. Upon finding a large wardrobe, he stopped and looked at it curiously, sensing something off about it. Lifting one of his front paws, he gripped the handle to give it a yank, only for the door to remain stuck. Confused, he gave it another tug, but the door remained tightly shut. There wasn't a lock or anything that could have been blocking the door to keep it from opening. Meaning, that it must have been something… inside, the wardrobe that kept it from opening.

Gulping, the dog nervously took a step back, paused for a moment unsure of what to do, before giving in to curiosity and leaned forward to peer into the small crack in between the two doors. Where another eye glared back at him, blinking menacingly.

"Rikes! Raggy! Raggy! Raggy!"

The hippy barely had a second to turn around before a furry brown blur slammed into him at top speed, knocking him flat on his back. Wincing, he could make out the terrified expression of Scooby Doo, eyes wide and his entire frame trembling.

"Like what's with you Scooby Doo?"

Too worked up for words, Scooby dramatically started pointing to the wardrobe behind him, whimpering the whole time. Shaggy pushed the dog off of him and stared curiously at the piece of furniture.

"Like, did you see someone in there?

"Ruh huh, ruh huh!"

Gulping nervously, the trembling teen tip toed over to the wardrobe, fingers lightly grasping the handle, his dog crouched nervously behind him. Putting his finger to his lips, he put his ear towards the door, listening for movement. At first there was silence, then a chirping, almost chittering sound came from deep inside the wardrobe. Pulling back suddenly, his wide eyes met Scooby's, who had also heard what the beatnik had.

"Like, did you hear that Scoob?"

"Ruh huh…"

"Ok, enough is enough. On the count of three, I'm gonna yank open this door and hopefully it'll be nothing, ok?"

"R-R-Rokay…"

"One… two… three!"

Yanking the door open, Shaggy barely had a chance to cover himself when a decade's worth of dusty coats, dresses, and hats all came flying out, burying him and Scoob. Popping their heads out of the pile, the duo could see that one of the coats was snagged on the inside door handle, which prevented it from opening at first. Further into the cabinet, there lay a small jewelry box that had a very irritated grey mouse sitting inside of it. Using one of his little paws to hold up the lid of the box, the mouse let out a furious chittering, while shaking his other curled up paw angrily at them, before disappearing inside of the jewelry box. Shaggy let out a weak chuckle as he untangled himself from the pile.

"Like, it was only a mouse Scoob"

"Rouse? Oh, a rouse! Rehehehehe!"

"Mwahahahahahaha!"

"Gee Scoob, I didn't think it was that funny!"

"Rasn't re!"

"Wasn't you? Then who-"

As soon as Shaggy had begun to speak, a glowing clawed hand grabbed him by the shoulder, the laughing continuing loudly right behind him. Turning his head, the hippy could see the ghost standing right behind them, it's snarled mouth laughing evilly, and a sinister glint within it's green eyes.

"Zoinks! Run for it Scoob!"

"Rikes!"

The beatnik and the Great Dane took off in a puff of dust, the ghost chasing after them, laughing manically the whole way down the attic stairs. Ditching their idea of running down a hallway back and forth from the ghost, the two dove headfirst into two vases, the ghost zooming right past them. Shaggy and Scooby popped their heads out of the vases, the lids balancing on their heads like hats.

"Wow, like that was real close!"

"RI'll say!"

Slowly walking and keeping a look out for that ghost, the two wound up wandering into an abandoned room, where the only thing in it was a ton of crates. Feeling the top of one of them, Shaggy could tell it was made of newer wood and dust free, meaning it had to have been placed here recently. Yanking the lid up, inside was-

"Holy smokes, look at this!"

"Rars!"

Indeed, lining the entire crate were a ton of golden bars, shining beautifully in the crate. Holding one, Shaggy couldn't help but wonder why these were here in the first place. But before he could think any further, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, making him freeze.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Wiping his head around the beatnik came face to face with-

"Whoa Shag! It's just us!"

Relaxing, Shaggy let out a sigh of relief as Fred lowered his hand, and Daphne and Velma curiously looked behind the two at the recently discovered crates.

"Jinkies! Gold bars! So that explains it!"

"Like, explains what?"

"What we found in the basement. Come on, we'll show ya"

…

"Zoinks! Like look at this place!"

Sitting behind the bookcase in the basement led a passageway that opened up to the gigantic cave that even rival Batman's. A giant machine sat right in the center of the cave, with a conveyor belt clearly depositing gold bars into a crate similar to the one Shaggy found upstairs. And littered everywhere in this cave was what looked like gold. Some mining equipment also lay sprawled about, giving a pretty clear idea of what was going on here. Velma went up next to the machine and observed it.

"Exactly what I was thinking, this machine must be producing these gold bars that Scooby and Shaggy found upstairs. And these bars are made of nothing more than fool's gold!"

Fred began to catch on to what Velma was getting at.

"And that ghost is going to sell them as if they were real gold!"

"Exactly!"

Fred furrowed his brow, and idea forming in his head. The rest of the gang could practically see the cogs and gears in his brain turn when suddenly he spoke.

"Gang, I think it's time we CATCH this ghost!"

…

"Like, Mr Ghost, come out come out wherever you are!"

"Roo-hoo! Mr Rhost! Where are rou?"

Shaggy was shaking like a leaf while lightly cursing Fred under his lips. Of course he and Scoob would be the bait, he figured it made the most logical sense since they were the fastest compared to the rest of the gang. But that didn't mean he exactly liked being bait, and he's sure Scooby feels the same way too. In fact, he'd rather be the opposite of bait, or at least somewhere where the ghost wouldn't be able to reach them. Like Antarctica for starters!

A loud creak made the cowardly duo freeze in their tracks. Slowly turning around, the saw nothing out of the ordinary, which made the situation even more frightening. Reluctantly, Shaggy took a few steps forward to investigate, the curiosity nawing at him, with Scooby bringing up the rear.

"Ruh, Raggy?"

"Shhhh Scoob! This'll just take a sec, I just wanna see like what the noise was"

"But Raggy-"

"Shhhhh, do you want the ghost to find us!"

Looking around the hallway, Shaggy could see nothing out of the ordinary in the dim light.

"Raggy!"

"Like what is it Scoob?!"

"The rhost!"

"The ghost? What about the ghost?"

"I round rim!"

"You- You found him? Where?"

Soon Shaggy felt a couple of tugs on his oversized green t-shirt, causing him to turn around and come face to face with a terrified Scooby Doo pointing nervously behind him and non-other than the ghost, it's green eyes glowing angrily at them.

"Zoinks! Like, let's get outta here Scoob!"

"Right rehind you Raggy!"

The two cowards took off, the ghost in hot pursuit behind them. Taking a left up ahead, Shaggy made sure to jump extra high so he would clear the trip wire that Fred had set up for the trap. But Scooby had waited a second too late, and accidentally stumbled over the trip wire falling hard. The ghost screeched to a stop before he tripped over the poor dog, confusion written over his ghastly face as he saw the trip wire yank out a wedge that was holding a bowling ball into place, causing the ball to slowly roll along the shelf it was set up on and fall off the end of it, where landed on a lever made of an old board and paint can, which shot an old boot up into the air and caused it to land on a mouse trap in the rafters, snapping the trap shut and cutting a small wire holding Fred's pocket knife, which sliced through another wire, dropping a heavy net over poor Scooby Doo. The ghost began to chuckle darkly and began to make his way to Shaggy, who had begun to nervously back up to the end of the hall with the rest of the gang, who were all equally nervous.

Scooby widened his eyes in horror, realizing that this was all his fault and that the ghost was going to get his new friends and Shaggy! Furiously biting on the net that held him pinned down, he worked through a small hole and squeezed himself through it. Looking around furiously, he saw a part of Fred's trap and came up with an idea. Sitting down on one side of the lever, Scooby grabbed the bowling ball from the other side and hurled it back down again as hard as he could, causing the lever to shoot him straight up in the air, right at the ghost.

The ghost was only a few feet away from his friends when he heard something coming closer to him, and upon realizing it was non other than that meddling mutt flying through the air, he went to take off only to be crushed by the weight of the Great Dane landing right on his back. The gang stared in shock for a second only to begin cheering for the hero dog, Shaggy being the most proud of his buddy.

"Like, guess who just caught a big scary ghost buddy?"

"Rooby Dooby Doo?"

"That's right pal, Scooby Dooby Doo!"

"Rooby Doo!"

**Author's Note**

The birth of a catchphrase


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

When the Sherriff Rodgers was told to check out a ghost which was caught at an abandoned mansion in the middle of the woods, he had thought the chief had been joking at first. But sure, pulling up to the spot he saw non-other than what appeared to be a blue ghost tied up on the ground with a rope. Standing alongside the ghost appeared to be a few teenagers, a dog- wait, that dog, almost looked like-

"Scooby? Is that you? Norville?"

Shaggy stepped out from where he was hiding from behind Fred, nervously chuckling.

"Uh, hey Dad, how's it going?"

"Peachy. Now what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere catching a ghost?"

"Well, uh, ya see, um, the thing is, like, uh-"

"I'll answer that one, Sherriff", the orange sweatered girl with glasses answer, confidence clinging on to every word. She turned to the grumbling ghost.

"This "ghost" has been mining fool's gold in a cave underneath this mansion and has been using it to make fake gold bars to sell for his own profit. If you need any proof, you're welcomed to check out the basement yourself. As to why we were catching this ghost, we figured no one would believe us if we said a ghost chased us through the school"

"This… ghost, followed you too school?"

"Yes sir"

"Hmmm… well, any idea of who this ghost could be then?"

The Sherriff could see the girl's smile widen, eyes clearly holding the truth behind her thick frames.

"Well, I've concluded that the ghost is non-other than…"

Yanking off the mask, the gang and the Sherriff as the ghost was revealed to be-

"Principal Ruby!"

"From the high school? But why?"

Velma shrugged, "It was quite simple actually. Ruby had a similar chunk of fool's gold on display in his office, and has even mentioned to Daphne that if it was real gold he'd be rich enough to retire. By secretly mining the fool's gold in this basement and then passing it off as real gold, he would have been able to become rich very quickly. That is, until Shaggy here-"

The Sherriff took a second to glance at his son, who was nervously waving back at him.

"-hadn't come across this mansion and discovered a chunk of fool's gold. Ruby knew he had to get that chunk back before Shaggy realized what it meant, which explains why the ghost was chasing us back at the high school. It also explains where he got his costume from, which was the costume chest by the auditorium, and how he was able to disappear so quickly in the school at all- being the principal, he would know that school better than any of us!"

The Sherriff had heard enough, and promptly threw a pair of handcuffs on the man, and started heading towards his cruiser. But not before he spat out one last second reply.

"It's not fair! I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids, and your dumb dog!"

Scooby looked around confused.

"Rog? Where?"

The rest of the gang cracked up, and even though Scooby didn't understand why he joined in as well.

"Scooby Dooby Dooooooooo!"

**Author's Note**

And there you have it folks! I might make an epilogue to this, I haven't decided yet. Honestly I lost inspiration for this fic a while ago, but I didn't want people to be disappointed so I at least tried to get it done.


End file.
